Montauk's Bill O’Reilly Discusses 'Killing the Witches'

Bill O’Reilly is at it again, and fans of his Killing history series should be delighted. His latest, Killing the Witches: The Horror of Salem, Massachusetts, takes a deep dive into the Salem witch trials. This is the 13th in the series for journalist, TV broadcaster and former history teacher O’Reilly and researcher Martin Dugard.

“I can write about anything I want, and I wanted to get into the culture and the way they were denied due process,” O’Reilly says of the victims in Killing the Witches. He and Dugard have the top-selling history series of all time, with 19 million copies sold worldwide. “Ironically, we are experiencing a witch hunt today that the press is driving,” he said. “To this modern day, we still haven’t learned our lesson.”

All O’Reilly’s Killing books are based on history and facts. Killing the Witches is all true, every word researched.

“They wrote everything down,” says O’Reilly, who adds that Dugard researched the witch hunts for six months for the book. “Am I surprised sometimes at what he finds? Yes. I will say ‘You gotta check this!’”

As a former teacher, he knows that history can be a hard sell. Because of that, he makes sure his writing is snappy and entertaining.

“Most history books are boring,” O’Reilly says. “Ours will keep you turning the page, keep you up at night. I am a storyteller.”

And, what a story it is to tell. Two young girls are afflicted with a mysterious ailment in Salem in 1692. The violent fits and strange behavior spreads to other girls in the village. Rumors of demonic possession and witchcraft circulate. Hysteria leads to accusations, arrests and trials, with 30 found guilty and 20 executed. Others died in jail awaiting trial. Those who survived, their lives were never the same.

O’Reilly uses all his storytelling skills to explain how Puritan traditions and the power of early American ministers affected not only the Founding Fathers but many aspects of United States history, including the American Revolution and the Constitutional Convention.

“History really isn’t taught (in-depth in our schools),” O’Reilly says. “Our country has a history of good and bad. The bad can be hard, but you have to tell the truth, but I do believe the good overtakes the bad. Sadly, there is a lot of evil in the world, and historians have to deal with it.” O’Reilly hopes to interest those who are not history fans to care about America’s origins.

“I don’t want to be bored, so I want to tell a fabulous story,” O’Reilly explains of writing books that interest him. He says he uses himself as the audience. “I’m not trying to impress anyone with the words I can use. I just want a well-told story.”

He has achieved his goal with Killing the Witches. As with all the books in his Killing series, Witches is a New York Times and national bestseller. All the books in the series have been praised for making history not just approachable, but captivating reading.

For those new to the series, O’Reilly offers a map. Interestingly, he suggests starting with Killing the Witches, then Killing England, Killing Lincoln and Killing Crazy Horse. This will take readers up to modern times.

“I like to deal with popular history,” O’Reilly explains. “People know, but don’t know what happened. They don’t know what really happened. All the books but Killing Jesus are America-centric. If you read the books, you’ll get an overall picture of our country.”

Many will know O’Reilly from The O’Reilly Factor, which he hosted for 16 years. You can find him now helming No Spin News weeknights from 8–11 p.m. on The First TV, a new media network available digitally on Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV and others. He hosts “The O’Reilly Update” on 225 radio stations. A broadcaster for more than 43 years, he has been awarded three Emmys. He is a former anchor for CBS, ABC and Fox News.

O’Reilly, who has a house in Montauk, does much of his writing with a view of the ocean.

“I spent my whole life around the ocean,” says the former lifeguard for the Town of Babylon. “Montauk is a beautiful place to spend time, an inspiring place to write.”

Todd Shapiro is an award-winning publicist and associate publisher of Dan’s Papers.